Audio speaker assemblies generally include a housing to support the driver and tweeter, and a grill mounted on the housing to cover the driver and speaker to prevent damage to the speaker components. Grills are mounted to the housing, or baffle, in two different ways. One technique for mounting the grill to the housing is to provide a side wall or skirt extending rearwardly from the front face of the grill, with the side wall or skirt being press fit into a recess or slot in the plastic baffle. However, this press-fit technique is inconsistent, in that the plastic baffle often is distorted due to over tightening of the baffle to other housing structure. Inconsistent press-fit between the grill and the baffle may cause the grill to fall due to speaker vibrations, particularly if the speaker assembly is mounted in the ceiling, such that the grill is facing downwardly.
A second technique for mounting the grill to the housing or baffle is the use of magnets. However, the magnets generally are light weight, without a strong attraction force. For example, in commercially available speaker assembly, the magnets which mount the grill to the housing require approximately 2.5 pounds of force to remove the grill. If the mounting surface of the housing to which the grill is mounted is not perfectly flat, the magnetic force is further weakened, thereby increasing the probability of the grill falling from the housing.
Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved audio speaker grill mounting system.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of an audio speaker assembly having a housing for supporting the speaker components and a cover or grill which is twist-locked into securement on the housing.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved audio speaker assembly having a grill which will not accidentally fall from the speaker housing.
Still another objective of the present invention is the provision of a method of quickly, easily, and securely mounting a speaker grill to a speaker housing.
Another objective of the present invention is the provision of a twist lock method for assembling a speaker grill to a speaker housing.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of a speaker grill which is locked to a speaker housing by rotation of the grill relative to the housing.
Yet another objective of the present invention is the provision of a speaker grill and speaker housing which are assembled via overlapping tabs and tab retainers.
A further objective of the present invention is the provision of an improved audio speaker grill mounting system which is economical to manufacture, simple to assemble, and effective in use.
These and other objectives will become apparent from the following description of the invention.